Son of the Shadows (The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Book 2) [Paperback]

"Son of the Shadows" is the second book in Juliet Marilee's Sevenwaters Trilogy. It continues the story by leaping ahead a number of years, with Sorcha's daughter being the main character of the story.

I loved the first book "Daughter of the Forest", and was looking forward to being captured by this second book. Unfortunately I was not captured. The second book takes a different approach to story telling compared to the first book. The first book was based on one of the Grimm brothers' tales, but the second book caries on with the Sevenwaters family.

Sorcha is old and she and Red have three children consisting of a boy named Sean and a girl named Liandan who are twins, and share a mind link like Sorcha and Finbar did in the first book, and Sorcha and Red have an older daughter named Niamh, who is beautiful and who lives life for the moment.

The story circles around Liandan who has a great number of gifts, she is able to touch peoples' minds and comfort them, she is a healer like her mother, she is gifted and the fairy folk are watching her.

Liandan falls in love with a painted man who is known as an assassin and whose skill is renowned. The painted man is not unscarred, but has a long history from childhood of tragic events that created him and he is afraid of the dark. Liandan bares his child and she swears to love no other, but the painted man.

The story consists of a number of themes. One that I found overwhelming was the way the men had control of the female's lives and how the men basically mucked everything up by being control freaks. Liandan is able to voice more independence than the other females in the book, but her life is still focused mostly on fixing problems that the men have caused. The book seems to be crying out that women need to be free to make their own choices and free from the prejudices and double standards that men have for themselves and for women.

I was looking for a fairy tale and I got a book that seems to be pointing out the problems of men controlling affairs, but the women fall in love with them anyways, so everything is okay as long as you have lust and love, but it is hard to tell the difference between the two, especially in this book which has many lustful scenes.

I felt the book was divided in which way it should tell the story. To totally degenerate all men as being controlling and wrong or to tell a story about magic and love, the book could not make up its mind and so it was unsatisfying.

"Son of the Shadows" is an in-depth book and written with skill, but with conflicts of message. It does not live up to its predecessor, and it focuses more on lustful scenes and men controlling the affairs then on a fantasy tale as the first did.

Since my childhood, I have always loved a good fairy tale and Juliet Marillier's Celtic-themed Sevenwaters trilogy is a real winner - for both teens and adults alike. "Son of the Shadows," book two in the series after "Daughter of the Forest," is every bit as good as book one. A second generation of the Sevenwaters family is introduced here and many familiar folks from the first book have roles to play also. The characters are wonderful. They change and grow so much throughout the novels, that it is easy to care about and empathize with them. And the magic is...well, simply magical.

Sorcha, the "Daughter of the Forest," married her beloved British husband Hugh of Harrowfield, who gave up his ancestral home to move to Erin and live with his wife at Sevenwaters. Together they became stewards of the enormous estate which, with its magical forest and strong ties to the old, druidic faith, prosper under their care. They have been blessed with three children: Niamh, who is as beautiful as she is willful; Sean, strong and capable like his father; and Sean's twin, Liadan, who, like her mother, is a gifted healer and seer.

Liadan's birth was not foreseen by the fairy folk, the Tuatha de Danaan, who so frequently intervene in the lives of this family. It is they who are determined to preserve the old ways through those of the Sevenwaters line. Neither Liadan's mother nor the magical beings who populate the age-old forests of Sevenwaters had counted on Sean, (whose birth was predicted as part of a prophecy), having a twin sister. This lack of foresight gave Liadan the power to change things previously ordained - to defy prophesy. But Liadan does not want power nor does she want a position of leadership in the clan. She is shy, and prefers the art and lore of healing to the more common pleasures of girls her age. Yet, it is Liadan who is finds herself thrust into the midst of the enemy, and taken away from the family that has loved and sheltered her. She is carried off to heal a dying outlaw, a mercenary in the band of the notorious and feared "Painted Man."

This is a beautiful tale of familial devotion, self-sacrifice, steadfastness, adventure, travel - and above all, of love that must be strong enough to defy all odds - with a hero who is worthy of the exceptional young woman Liadan is. Although the plot and subplots are very strong this novel is definitely character driven. And, as noted before, Ms. Marillier develops her cast of characters and gives them great depth. As with all fairy tales, there is magic at work here, just the right amount to awe but not to disturb reality too much or take away from the characters' independence and ability to choose.

Although "Son of the Shadows" can be read and enjoyed without reading the first book, I strongly recommend reading "Daughter Of The Forest" before picking-up this terrific novel. ENJOY!
JANA

The only reason I rated this book three stars is because I rated Daughter of the Forest four stars. I really enjoyed Daughter of the Forest despite its length. As usual, Son of Shadows was well-written and in depth, but it lacked the appeal its prequel had. Maybe I just like fairytale renditions, but this book was just not as captivating. I think that Sorcha's and Red's tale was a little ruined; I didn't understand why things had to end the way they did.

Liadan's story is great, but it still doesn't match up to her mother's tale. Also, some of the passages are quite boring; there are a couple of really despisable characters.

All in all, the storyline was good. If you liked Daughter of the Forest, you should continue with this one.